It’s been a whole week since we both gave up the iPhones and switched to the Samsung Galaxy S6.
This post is not meant to try to convince iPhone users to switch, nor is it intended to tout the benefits of an Android phone over an iPhone . . this is simply my opinion so there’s no need to get into a debate about which phone is best. I think both phones are excellent phones and one may be more right for some than the other one so if the iPhone is perfect for you .. great! You found your match!
We LOVE our new phones. Some of the things I love may have been available on the iPhone and I just never learned to use it to its advantage.
- Camera: Front to back to video – There are several things I love about the camera. I love the ease of switching from the front camera to the back camera or taking a video. With my iPhone 4S, I had a little slide bar. With the Galaxy, there are little icons right at the bottom of the camera screen and I can touch them with ease.
- Camera: Turning it on – The phone can be in the resting mode (whatever you call that) and I can click the home button twice and it brings the camera right up. Sometimes I want to get a picture of something QUICK and this brings the camera up instantly.
- Photo Sharing – Since I’m a Google user (Gmail, Drive, Photos, etc.), the photos can be sent to my Google storage with just a tap of one icon. It’s pretty much like storing photos on the iCloud from the iPhone but I use Google all the time and always have it open.
- Photo Editing – I love Google’s photo editing software. I wish it had the resizing capability but it doesn’t.
- Contacts – I am able to put my favorite contacts in a group and those are at the top of my texting and phone page so if I want to call or text Nicole, I tap her name which is always right there on top.
- Ring Tones – It was possible on the iPhone 4S to change ring tones so that my favorite people had their own ring tone but I usually gave up before I figured it out. I had my 4S for probably 3 years and had never successfully changed individual ring tones. With the Galaxy, it is so easy . . everyone has their own ring tone already.
I’m sure there are other things but that’s all I can think of now.
Over the weekend, Vince and I were talking about how much we loved the phones and I was telling him I had been so apprehensive about switching from the iPhone because I was afraid I wouldn’t love the Galaxy but I had never really LOVED the iPhone either. He said “I love my Galaxy Tablet better than my iPads.” WHAT? You have a Samsung table and I don’t? Yes . . he waved it right in front of me. He said “It’s pretty much the only thing I use! You see me using it every day!” Well, it looks pretty much like an iPad to me.
He said “Here . . use it for a while and see what you think!” You know how this story ends!
Samsung Tablet
Samsung is coming out with a new improved version so the Galaxy TabS models are being marked down at some places (Walmart here for one). I’ve refrained from using it much til the case gets here. I’m so hard on stuff like this. It’s so much more like using a mini computer than I find the iPads to be. My full size iPad is probably a couple of models old but my mini is the latest model. I hadn’t had the mini long and it messed up and I had to send it back. Apple replaced it but with a refurbished model and I just don’t think it’s right. It has never been responsive and it’s impossible to even respond to a Facebook post on it without it screwing up so I’ve been pretty unhappy with it. My original mini seemed so much better but . . it’s out of warranty now and I’m stuck with it.
My plan is to save the iPad and the iPad mini for using with Knit Companion since, as of now, there isn’t an Android version of that program. I love Knit Companion and will do whatever it takes to keep using it but I hope my iPads last til they get an Android version ready. And Facetime! Nicole has an iPad so we Facetime every day, sometimes more than once. I believe Android has something similar but since Nicole has an iPad and not an Android, I’ll keep an iPad for that purpose.
So . . there you have it . . I think we’ve officially gone from Apple users to happy Android users.
Dottie N. says
We’ve really enjoyed our Samsung phones – don’t have a tablet, but our DIL does and she loves it, too, LOL. I know there’s an app called “hangouts” that works like facetime – don’t know if Nicole can get the hangouts without being having an android device or not, but might be another option for y’all.
Sue in Scottsdale, AZ says
Judy, I’m glad you like your Samsung. My husband and I started with IPhones, went to Samsung and we are both now back to IPhones – I have an IPhone 5 and my husband has a 6+. I could never get used to the Samsung and and as soon as I could, I went back to the IPhone and I love it. I find it is so much easier than Samsung but I don’t use it for everything like you do. My phone is pretty much my phone, calendar, and camera – not much else. The other thing is that I am a Mac user and I find it much easier if everything else I own talk nicely together. I think it is great that we have a choice today!
Linda Steller says
I’m so glad to hear you like the phone, Judy. I have the S5 and I have a Samsung tablet also. I love them both. Well, let’s say I love the phone, I like the tablet. I think the only problem with my tablet is, it’s a few years old and can be sluggish at times. I prefer the android OS. I’m a MacBook gal for regular computer things, but Android for my mobile items.
Susan says
My son has an Android phone, though not that one, and he loves that OS. I am still using my five year old phone and expect I will until it breaks, because I don’t do all that other stuff so many people do. It’s just a phone and a calendar, though it has lots of other capabilities. I like the way you outlined the reasons you like it, though. And you’re right. Some people’s brains will work better with one than the other, and it isn’t a contest – except to the companies, maybe. LOL
Sherrill says
Yeah, we got the iPhone 3 when they first came out and now I’m on the 6. Had an HTC somewhere along the way but no iTunes, not nearly as many apps, too many things I couldn’t have so I went back. I really like my iPhone but different strokes, right?
Lee says
I’m SO living in the dark ages…with my pay-as-you-go clamshell phone, lol. And a tablet, isn’t that something a stenographer writes shorthand on? Too many electronic options out there, lol.
Dar in MO says
Thanks for the comparisons of the phones, Judy. I’ve had an Android from the beginning because of the costs, and have never had an Apple product. I did want a MAC computer but again, price was the determining factor at the time. Do you know anything about the new Surface 3 product that is being advertised lately? It sounds like what I need now – a tablet and computer all in one. I still use the Microsoft Office Word and Excel programs daily and would love a tablet that has the capability to use them on it. I think it is a Microsoft product.